


Arctic Bunny

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Community: rotg_kink, Families of Choice, Father-Son Relationship, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Púca | Pooka, Rabbits, Transformation, Wishes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 21:04:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the Rise of the Guardians Kinkmeme: '<a href="http://rotg-kink.dreamwidth.org/1511.html?thread=725223#cmt725223">Bunnymund/Jack Frost: There's more than one Pooka</a>'</p><p>Bunnymund learns to be careful what he wishes for. He may just get it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arctic Bunny

**Author's Note:**

> About the only thing this has in common with the original prompt is that Bunnymund's not the last of his kind. Warnings for Mythology and SpaceAlien!Bunnymund, inspired a lot by [this pic by Rinpin](http://rinpin.tumblr.com/image/37707808176), of Bunny looking old and tired.  
> References to Bunny's age in the books.

* * *

“Oh! A shooting star! Quick! Everyone make a wish!”

Almost as one, the five Guardians looked up at the night sky, to where the shooting star was falling, each silently closing their eyes making a wish deep in their hearts.

Sandy glowed brighter as they did so, reacting to the wishes of his dearest friends. He'd been a Wishing Star before he'd been the Sandman, and nothing made him happier than wishes being granted.

_"I wish for everyone's happiness."_

_"I wish for joy for the world."_

_"I wish... I wasn't alone. I'm tired of being the last one."_

_"I wish for a family- No wait, I have one now. But Bunny doesn’t. I wish... I wish Bunny wasn't so lonely."_

_"I wish you well."_

* * *

Bunnymund sighed deeply as he opened his eyes, the old familiar ache deep in his chest.

Wishing... Wishing didn't change anything, wouldn't give him his heart's desire, just made him re-live old bittersweet memories from when he wasn't the only one covered in fur with long tall ears.

He'd had millennia to adapt, but every so often he'd debate with himself, what would he give to not be the last Pooka. Quite a lot, but he'd been around long enough to be wary of a Deal with the Devil to get his dearest wish granted.

He had the Guardians, and the hopes of the Children of Earth, the Children of this world. It had been enough for eons, it would be enough for years still.

And while life had definitely become more lively since Jack had joined them, he still couldn't help but to Hope.

Toothiana made a high pitched gasp, echoed a second later by North, along with a muttered Russian curse. Bunnymund turned to see what had alarmed his fellow Guardians when he spotted what had startled them.

A Kit.

The air in his lungs momentarily turned solid, he couldn't breathe, the beat of his heart loud in his ears.

Couldn't be.

He shook his head, trying to clear the vision, but the sight remained unchanged. A tiny Pooka, barely a toddler, wobbling slightly on their hind legs. Aside from the black tips on the ears, Bunnymund might have mistaken the kit for an albino, from the thick white coat and the bright ice-blue eyes that regarded them curiously but without fear.

"Bunny?" North rumbled tentatively, reaching a hand out towards him.

Bunnymund swallowed, afraid to take his eyes and ears off the kit, afraid that it might turn out to be an hallucination after all. "Wasn't me, mate." He said, stepping forward, grabbing North's hand and gripping it tight.

He could feel the rough calculus of North's hands, the strength in the toymaker's fingers, grounding him. Not a dream. He didn't dream of that.

"Sandy?" Toothiana questioned, glancing at the Sandman, her fairies making a curious buzzing noise. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sandy waving his hands in the air in a confused gesture, a large question mark over his head.

"Is that baby Pooka?" North whispered, his voice soft, as if afraid that he might spook the kit.

Bunnymund nodded, his nose twitching as he tried to pick up the youngster's scent. Were they healthy? Boy or girl? Family? A kit that age shouldn't be without their parents, they were just large enough to run and hide. He barely checked the urge to rush over, pick up the strange kit and look them over.

His heart sang in joy. He wasn't alone. He wasn't the last.

The kit sat down on their haunches with an annoyed grunt. "Why are you suddenly all so _tall_?" Jack's voice complained.

His chest seized up for the second time in as many minutes, but this time it wasn't from surprise, but horror.

Snow Rabbit. Jack Frost.

"No..." He whispered, his ears falling back along his head as he pulled away from North, covering his head with his hands. Bunnymund sank onto his haunches, his shaking legs unable to support him all the way upright. "No."

Even in all his thoughts, all his fantasies, Bunnymund'd never meant for his wish to do that to one of his friends. To change them, warp them from being anything other than themselves.

It was wrong, all wrong.

Jack's head twisted around, staring at all of them with those familiar blue eyes, ears straight up and twitching curiously. "Guys... You're kind of freaking me out here." Jack drawled, a mixture of brash cockiness and wary confusion. "What's going on?"

"No." Bunnymund repeated, shaking rage taking over the panic. "Not him!" He reared up, shaking a fist at the sky where the star had since disappeared. "Do ya hear me?! NOT HIM! Not **Jack!** Change 'im BACK!"

The night sky was silent.

"Bunny?" Jack's voice was quiet, hesitant in a way that the cheeky frost sprite never was.

Bunnymund's gaze shifted away from the silent stars to the kit... To Jack, whose ears were plastered along his back, curled up like a little fluff-ball in a patch of frost, blue eyes huge and alarmed as he stared down at the tips of his huge front paws, as if noticing them for the first time.

In his periphery, he was aware of the other three Guardians hovering anxiously, but Bunnymund only had eyes for the terrified kit.

He reached forward, intending to calm and sooth the kit, whose sides were practically vibrating from the speed of his breaths. Jack flinched at the motion, sliding backwards on the ice at his feet and Bunnymund recoiled, his mind moving rapidly in a dozen directions at once, instincts clamouring that he protect the kit.

He done this.

He'd changed Jack.

He'd hurt the kit.

He was a danger to the kit.

The tunnel was open at his feet without a thought, the earth pulling him down, away from the scared blue eyes of the kit and the shouts of his friends.

* * *

A gentle touch on the top of his head tugged Bunnymund's attention back to the physical realm, old familiar dusky smell of the, darker, deeper recesses of the Warren. He'd slept for millennia here, waking occasionally to gather the new and interesting eggs of the various species on the surface before sleeping again.

It was safe here. He couldn't harm anyone from here, curled up like an egg, and no one would find him either. There were thousands of miles of tunnels in the Warren, a veritable maze of them.

For a moment, he thought it was a fallen branch or vine and dismissed it, sinking back into this thoughts.

It was wrong, all wrong.

Even though he'd received verification from both Sandy and Manny that Pitch had annihilated the Brotherhood of the Pooka to find the light that Bunnymund had hidden here in the core of this world, he'd held out hope that at least one had survived, tucked away in an isolated planet of their own. Not dead, scattered. Even Pitch's repeated taunts that he had killed the rest of Bunnymund's people hadn't been enough to kill that hope.

Bunnymund had survived after all. And the Pooka were a clever, long lived species. Even if Bunnymund had always been considered a little odd, due to his fascination with eggs and chocolate.

But they were also a slow-growing species. With long lives came a low birth rate, and all children, no matter whose, were infinitely precious, treasured.

In the millennia before he'd met the Guardians, as the weight of isolation began to wear down on him, he'd wondered what it wouldn't have been like to have kits, to teach them, raise them, show them the joys of universe.

And while Pooka could do amazing things, even he couldn't have kits without the assistance of another Pooka. Male or female, binary gender didn't really matter to Pooka, not when they could change it or any other physical aspect with a little bit of concentration. 'He' was how North and Katherine had referred to Bunnymund when they first met, and was just as easy for Bunnymund to go by as anything else.

The idea of carrying a kit or two wasn't anathema. Quite the opposite, in fact.

That dream had faded as he had become a Guardian, his attention caught up in fighting Pitch and creating eggs and chocolate for Easter. It hadn't left entirely, just became not as prominent, replaced by the smiles and joy of the children finding his eggs and the arrival of Spring each year, the start of new life.

Even the mostly furless human faces had stopped seeming quite so strange centuries ago, familiarity bred by the companionship of his fellow Guardians.

The warmth of friendship still didn’t completely take away the feeling of loss, of isolation. Just lessened the sting.

But to have his wish granted in such a way... For it to have changed _Jack_.

The winter sprite was close enough to human adulthood that the two of them had butted heads like young bucks over territory the first time they had met during the Blizzard of '68. It had not been an auspicious beginning, leaving a bitter taste in both of their mouths.

They had eventually gotten past that, Bunnymund aided by the realisation that while Jack was on the cusp of adulthood, he wasn't there yet. And thanks to being made immortal, he probably never would be. Jack was still very much a kid, one who loved to play games and have fun.

On the flip side, 300 years of isolation had left Jack with a deep understanding of isolation and loneliness, similar to Bunny's own.

Once they started talking, the more they discovered they had in common. This rapport lead them to frequently spending time in each other's company, chasing away the melancholy away with tricks and laughter. The two of them had fallen into a sort of bickering sibling relationship that both confounded and amused the other Guardians.

For the first time since the Golden Age, he could tentatively call himself happy, not just content. And it had not been enough.

His wish had harmed Jack. A child. A _kit_.

And Bunnymund could not deal with that.

The pressure on top of his head shifted, sliding down his left ear, pressing against the back of his neck and shoulder blades. Then it disappeared, only to move back to the top of his head again and repeat the gesture, this time down the right side. This was repeated a few more times before fingers dug into the ruff across the back of his neck and shoulders, combing through the thick fur there.

He was being groomed.

That... was not a random branch or vine. That was a deliberate action.

Someone was there.

Bunnymund tensed. It was a short list of people who knew about the Warren, and even fewer who could get inside.The hand was too small to be North's, who despite his huge size, was surprisingly good at being incredibly quiet and sneaky. Too big to be Sandy's, unless he was using his sand to make a comb, but there was no hiss of the sand. And there was a distinct lack of vibration that would denote Toothiana or her fairies.

Which only left one person. The last person he wanted near him.

"Ya shouldn't be here." He muttered.

"And you're an idiot." Jack bluntly informed him, although he never stopped his gentle stroking. "Where else would I be? And I haven't seen you this badly groomed, even after a three-week manic egg painting marathon. What'd you do? Fall in a puddle?"

He probably had fallen in the water at some point, the dash through the Warren after he'd fallen through the tunnel was a bit of a mixed up blur, Bunnymund focused on getting himself away before he could inflict any more harm. He hadn't given any thought to it, which was unusual for him. He usually took some pride in the care and shine of his coat.

"By the way, you even think about running, and I'll freeze your feet to the floor." Jack informed him, just a enough of a growl to his casual tone to let him know that Jack would do it in a heartbeat. And probably derive great pleasure in doing so as well.

Bunnymund sighed, shoulders slouching as he lost the tense anticipation of running. "I'm sorry." He offered, feeling the words were woefully inadequate.

"You should be, for disappearing." Jack said brusquely. "You scared all of us with that. Now shut up and I'll tell you what happened after you rabbited."

Bunnymund huffed in return. He lowered his arms from where his paws were gripping the sides of his head, resting them on his curled knees, covering just the lower half of his face instead of all of it, his eyes too heavy to open. There was a thunk of wood against stone, then both of Jack's hands against his forehead, cold fingers combing through the matted fur there.

Jack had set the staff down. If Bunnymund wanted to run, this was the time.

He stayed where he was, lacking the energy to do. And it had been so long since he’d been groomed.

"After you left, we all ended up at North's workshop and for a bit of a discussion with Sandy and the Man in the Moon." Jack said quietly. "Or as much of a discussion as you can, through light shows and puppetry. Basically, it boils down to two things. The first being we all wished for it."

His ears briefly rose in surprise, then fell back down again. How could they all wish for something like this to happen?!

"I'll explain that in a moment." Jack assured him. "The second one is that it turns out there was a reason why Mom never talked about Da, or why she moved us to the Colonies. It was better to claim to be a widow than to try to explain that her husband disappeared into the hills when the _Aos Sí_ retreated to the Otherworld and sealed the mounds against the iron wielding mortals."

The _Aos Sí_ , the Irish Fae. Bunnymund had heard of them, but never had any dealings with them.

"North started rambling about 'Conservation of Energy' and something about while it can't be created or destroyed, it can be altered." He could feel Jack shrug, indicating his lack of interest and understanding. "Apparently all of the Guardians have 'innate reservoirs of magical energy', which Manny tapped into lengthen our lifespans, making us immortal."

An elemental ability like Jack's ice or the plants that sprouted around Bunny, couldn't be given or granted, it was something innate to the person. Such as Toothiana's flying, a gift from her Mother, a 'Sister of Flight'. North had been one of the most powerful wizards Bunnymund had ever met even before he became a Guardian, the first to combine Magic and Technology.

Manny, Sandy and Bunnymund didn't require a lengthening of their lifespans, being from different races that lived much longer than the handful of decades that humans did. However, tying themselves to the belief of children did have altering properties, supplementing or draining their own energies.

"According to Manny, my father was a big black horse with chains on my Mother rode one Harvest Moon. He tried to unseat her all night, and when he couldn’t in the morning he turned into a human and stayed with her." Jack continued quietly, his cold fingers smoothing out the short hairs on the back of Bunnymund's long ears, leaving a faint chill behind.

"He and his brethren were Autumn tricksters who laid claim to the over ripe blackberries and the grains in the field after the harvest. Growing up, we always left a bit out after harvest, calling it the 'Púca's Share'."

 _Púca._ There was just a slight difference in accent, and yet....

He opened his eyes, meeting Jack's vivid blue ones, shining with kindness and muted merriment. "Good news, you're not the last Pooka." Jack said with a slight smile. "Bad News, the Púca that were here on Earth left with most of the other Fae about the time you first defeated Pitch."

Springtime in Australia was Autumn in Ireland, and Spring in Ireland was Autumn in Australia. They'd missed each other by half a world.

But they'd been here. Alive, and thriving. Not just one, but many.

There was an ache in his chest, not quite pain, but close.

Hope was a double-edged sword. It could hurt as much as it healed.

"Manny wanted me to pass on his apologies." Jack added, forehead wrinkling slightly. "You were the only Pooka he'd ever met, he didn't realise that they might also be horses." Or that Jack might could be one.

Dogs, goats, eagles, horses, rabbits. "Different clan." Bunnymund rasped, his eyes drifting shut. Manny was observant as a man in the moon could be, but there were many things about this planet that couldn't be observed from the sky.

Jack hummed in return, shifting to comb through what matted fur on Bunnymund's cheek that he could reach, close enough that Bunnymund could pick up his scent against the earthness of the Warren. Jack always smelled like fresh snow, the bite of ice in the air. He'd never been able to get past those scents to what the lad really smelled like, he'd learned long ago that humans didn't react well to being sniffed.

"Which brings us back to everyone having the same wish." Jack said, his voice a bit rough. "Tooth wished for everyone's happiness, North wished Joy to the World, and Sandy wished everyone well. It looks like that's what Sandy always wishes, a kind of a running joke as far as we could tell. It’s how he landed safely on Earth, Manny wishing him well as he starting to fall.”

Sandy always did have a twisted a sense of humour. But as wishes went, it wasn't a bad one. "And you?" Bunnymund questioned.

"I... was originally going to wish for family." Jack admitted, a touch of self deprecating humour colouring his tone. "And then I realised that I already had that with you and the rest of the Guardians. So I wished that you weren't lonely."

Bunnymund opened his eyes again, staring at Jack, who was concentrating on a particularly stubborn tangle near Bunnymund's neck. The generosity that Jack showed him was constantly a surprise.

"I wished that I wasn't the last." He whispered, admitting his own weakness, his greed.

Jack shot him a sarcastic smirk. "Kinda figured." He said drolly. "And I'm starting to think that you're going to need a bath to get everything out of your fur."

Probably. "Not yet." Baths could wait. He needed.... He needed to _know_.

"Right." Jack nodded, cold hands moving from Bunnymund's neck to his shoulder, fingers disappearing into the long fur. "So as far as Manny and Sandy can figure, having another Pooka around would make you not the last, less lonely, hopefully make you take better care of yourself, and bring you happiness and joy. Answers all five wishes. And since it'd make you less of a grumpy bunny, it'd make everyone else happy too."

Bunnymund grunted, acknowledging the barb. "And you?"

"Huh?" Jack looked up, confused.

"Did it make ya happy too?" Bunnymund asked.

Jack's dark brows came down, looking back down at Bunnymund's fur, still untangling the knots out of his fur. He was silent for a long moment, before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a large gust, narrow shoulders rising and falling. "I'm not sure." He admitted quietly.

One of Bunnymund's ears flickered in his direction, silent inquiry.

Jack stepped backwards, the staff in his hand and swinging as he paced back and forth. It was an unconscious motion, Jack had a habit of practically cuddling the staff when nervous. A few rocks on the edges of his turns shimmered with white frost where the staff banged into them, but the rest of the nook remained ice free.

The lad ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up. "I'm happy to finally know who my father was." He finally said, words crisp and sharp. "And I'm glad you're not the only Pooka around after all. Really glad. But I..." He trailed off, hands twisting around the staff hard enough that his knuckles stood out. "I really could do without the whole 'changing into a tiny fluffy bunny' part. No offense, but if I'm going to be a rabbit, couldn't I be, I dunno.... _My Height_?!"

Bunnymund stared at him for a moment. He opened his mouth, then shut it, aware of something sticking uncomfortably in his throat. It came out as kind of a wheeze, which turned into a chortle, then a full blown guffaw burst out of his chest.

Kids.

Jack glared indignantly at him, all affronted dignity.

"Oh, Frostbite." Bunnymund shook his head, uncurling slightly to wipe the moisture out of his eyes. "For a Pooka, you're barely out of nappies."

It took a moment for Jack to translate that, lips moving as he echoed the words. “So... you’re saying that I’m... a toddler?!” He demanded, his staff turning white with ice in his irritation. Jack paused, the frost fading. “Wait, 300 years old is a Pooka toddler, or the age I was when I died is the age of Pooka toddler?”

“Both.” Bunnymund shrugged a shoulder. “Combined.”

Jack gawked at him. “Just how old _are_ you?”

“Older than I care ta count.” Older than this planet anyway. There were other beings out there older than him, but they were scattered far and wide. Bunnymund stretched a leg out, feeling the limb protested after having been locked into one position for a while.

Due to being a shapeshifter, physically he was only as old as he felt he was. Usually this meant he wasn’t a young kit, but not an old man either, somewhere in the prime of his life. Today... not so much.

“Pooka live a long time.” Bunnymund said quietly, slowly stretching, getting his blood moving again. Jack watched him, his head tilted to the side as he observed. “Were you alright changin’ back?”

Now that his instincts weren’t screaming at him for being a danger to the kit, he was ashamed for leaving Jack alone, even if he was in the company of the other Guardians. While Sandy could change shapes with his sand, it wasn’t quite the same as doing it with a flesh body.

Bugger. He was going to have to apologise to everyone for disappering, wasn't he?

“It took a while.” Jack sighed, resuming his pacing, this time in circles around the room instead of back and forth in a straight line. He didn’t like staying still for long. “North and Sandy had me doing these ‘visualisation exercises’, picturing how I look and so and so forth.”

“Which-” Jack paused to lift a finger in Bunnymund’s direction for emphasis. “-Is a hell of a lot easier if you see your reflection more than once every couple of years.”

Ice was reflective, but not very well if you were looking for sharp details.

“Eventually I started to kind of get the hang of it.” Jack grimaced, turning on the ball of his foot and walking again. “Only problem was that I couldn’t totally change back. Waist up, mostly human and wearing my shirt. Waist down, still rabbit. And since clothing disappears and reappears along with, kind of embarrassing to be minus sans-trousers.”

Bunnymund bit back a laugh. “ _Mostly_ human?”

Jack made a face, running a hand through his hair again. “I looked young. Like around Jamie’s age. Tooth thought it was _adorable_ , all those tiny teeth. Like that crazy aunt who can't stop pinching your cheeks. Or shoving her hands into your mouth. Whatever.”

Crikey. As if she weren’t already a flutter around Jack as it was.

“Human bottom, rabbit top half? Not so bad.” Jack waved a hand around as he ranted. “And then there was the time I _mostly_ changed back. Except for the ears. And the tail. That lasted for a while. Except everyone kept trying to _touch_ them.”

“I bet you looked adorable mate.” Bunnymund assured him, barely keeping a straight face

“Oh, _yes_.” Jack snarled, obviously not at all thrilled by the thought. “ **Fortunately** , that’s what lead us to figuring out how to trigger a _complete_ transformation.”

“Which was?”

Jack beamed at him, a sarcastic bite to it. “Phil.”

“The Yeti?” Bunnymund questioned. Yeti weren’t shapeshifters.

“The Yeti.” Jack sketched out a rough salute as he paced. “The Yeti who was in the process of helping with dinner and was covered in pepper, due to an earlier mishap in the kitchen. And who couldn’t help but to _snuggle_ the cute fluffy Jack Rabbit.”

Bunnymund raised an eyebrow. “I’m not following you...” He admitted.

“Pepper covered Yeti.” Jack extrapolated. “Turns out I’m slightly allergic to it. I sneeze and poof! Baby Bunny. Sneeze again and hey! I’m back to myself. Except that then _I’m_ covered in the stuff and can’t stop sneezing or transforming back and forth.”

It took a great deal of Bunnymund's self control just to place a hand over his mouth and not start chortling.

Jack held up a hand, nodding as he did so. “It’s alright. Trust me, just _laaaugh_ -” He drawled the word out “-And get it aaaaaall out of your system.”

Bunnymund coughed and shook his head. He’d had his own difficulties mastering transformation when he was young. Not that he could easily remember all of them now. Well, aside from that one time he’d accidentally shifted into something that resembled a earth gecko. Being hairless did not suit him at all.

“It gets easier.” Bunnymund assured him. It would take time and practise, but it would get easier.

Jack just rolled his eyes, stopping his pacing to lean against his staff, looking at Bunnymund. Bunnymund tilted his head to the side, checking the lad over. Jack seemed alright, blue eyes sparkling with concern and muted mischief. "You look a bit more like yourself." Jack informed him. "But you still need a bath."

Bunnymund nodded, starting to feel itchy where his fur had dried in strange ways. A bath was starting to sound quite good indeed. "Ya sure you're okay though?"

"I'm _fine_." Jack assured him, just slightly annoyed. "Okay, so I turn into a rabbit occasionally, but I found out who my Dad was and gained a bunch of relatives in some other realm." He shrugged. "So all total, I'd say it was a good exchange."

This from the kid who freaked out when he was chosen to be a Guardian. Bunnymund huffed in return, pushing himself to his feet, jabs of pain shooting up his legs as he wobbiled upright. Ow. Definately, definately ow.

There was pressure and a bit of chill on his left side, Jack tucking himself under Bunnymund's arm, lending him his support. Jack shot him a look, just daring Bunnymund to make a comment, even as he wrapped an cold arm around him. "Ta, mate." Bunnymund said softly, resting his paw on Jack's shoulder.

Jack smiled back, looking pleased. And then confused. His nose wrinkled up, mouth opening as gave a sharp inhale, and then sneezed.

Support gone, Bunnymund sank to his haunches, staring down on a very irritated fluffy white kit. "Dammit." Jack cursed, rubbing at his nose with a paw. "You're all dusty." He complained.

Bunnymund just stared at him, torn between laughter and awe.

Jack glowered up at him, standing on all fours between Bunnymund and the door. “You’re not going to go running off, are you?” He demanded, the hairs on his back puffing out in an angry, defensive posture that just resulted in making him look even fluffier.

“Naw, mate. Not goin’ anywhere.” Bunnymund shook his head, settling down on the ground.

Jack gave him a suspicious look, still frowning. “That was the worst part.” Jack said quietly, ears drooping in sadness. “I thought... I thought you’d be happy.”

And instead he’d freaked, running as if Jack had turned into some sort of monster. “I’d just gotten my heart’s desire granted at the expense of one of me best mates.” He explained, his own ears drooping. “Thought I’d hurt you.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t.” Jack grumbled, his coat smoothing out. He hopped closer, lifting himself up on his hindquarters to headbutt Bunnymund's arm, before leaning against him.

"Sorry for flinching before." Jack said quietly, just an edge of embarrassment. "I didn't know it was you, all I could see was a shadow going for my head. Little twitchy about that after the whole thing with Pitch."

Pitch, who had played mind games with Jack in the shadows. "Understandable." Bunnymund said thickly, ears rising back up.

Jack huffed in annoyance, headbutting Bunnymund's paws. "I know you want to pick me up." Jack informed him, ice-blue eyes glaring defiantly up at him. "I'm fluffy. You cannot resist the adorable fluffiness."

"Adorable, huh?" Bunnymund snickered, giving in and carefully picking Jack up, slipping an arm under the kit to support him. He could feel the rapid movement of Jack’s rib cage as he breathed, normal for a kit. "Ya certainly think highly of yourself."

"Yeah well, you missed North's elves squealing it as they chased me around so they could take naps on me." Jack shifted, making himself comfortable. " _On_ , not with. Little bastards have sharp pokey fingers too."

Bunnymund chuckled, running the tip of one finger across the top of Jack's head, feeling the soft fur against the pad. The kit's fur was denser than his own, but was still kitten soft, lacking any of the slightly coarser adult guard hairs. Jack closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, making a purring sound in return, going boneless in his grasp, completely trusting.

He swallowed, throat tight. Bunnymund was holding a kit. A happy, healthy kit in his arms.

It was something that he never thought he'd have a chance to do.

Jack tilted his head to stare up at him, the purr fading to a questioning noise. "Just gimme a moment." Bunnymund said quietly, tucking Jack closer against him.

"No worries." Jack said, rising up to brush his tiny cold nose against Bunnymund's. "Although you're still dusty. If I sneeze, this is going to get really awkward."

Bunnymund didn't really care what shape Jack was in, a kit was a kit, but he refrained from saying so. While Jack didn't appear to mind being cuddled as a bunny, he didn't seem inclined do so when human. "Noted." He agreed, taking advantage of the position to nuzzle the top of Jack's head, sniffing him. Jack still smelled strongly of snow and ice, but now he could pick up the faint musky scent of young Pooka mixed with teenage human male. Not fully Pooka, but not human either.

Half-breed. He wondered if this would affect Jack's growth, or if he would grow at all. Jack said he hadn't grown at all since waking up in the ice, but as a kit, he was slightly big for 300 years, although not by much.

They'd have to check in a century or so, now that they knew Jack could shapeshift.

He buried his nose in Jack's fur, taking delight in breathing it in, memorising it.

Jack was correct, the Guardians were family, they were brothers, sisters, siblings. But Jack was a kit, his kit now. His to protect, to teach, to show the joys of the universe.

And eventually, find the others who were hidden away under the hills. More family.

Bunnymund couldn't wait.

Jack made a snorting sound, sniffing him back. "Alright, bath." He announced firmly. "Seriously. You can snuffle me to your hearts content after you're clean."

"You sayin' I stink, kid?" Bunnymund grinned.

"Maybe." Jack shrugged. "Just a bit. Like the bottom of a bog." He added with a teasing bite.

This from the one who smelled like frozen water. "Oh, belt up." Bunnymund snickered, shifting his grip on Jack. He crouched slightly, placing Jack up on his shoulders, the kit turning around and bracing himself against the bandoleer, grabbing ahold of the long hair across Bunnymund’s shoulders that was there for just such a purpose.

He rose all four feet, taking a few small experimental steps. His legs didn’t like it much, but it was better than completely upright. “Alright up there, Jack?”

“I’m good!” He could hear Jack’s excitement. “And don’t worry, I can’t ice anything like this.”

Something to work on then, Bunnymund would feel better if Jack could fight while as a kit.  
Even if it did mean frosting his fur on occasion. “Hold tight.” He warned, hopping down the tunnel, slower than his usual exuberant speeds.

Jack just made a pleased noise, balancing himself between Bunnymund’s shoulderblades. He passed a few of the giant stone egg sentinels, frozen in giant columns of ice. Ah. So that’s how Jack got in.

“Sorry about that.” Jack offered, not sounding apologetic at all. “It kind of took a little while to convince them to let me in.”

“They’ll defrost.” Bunnymund assured him, shaking his head. Although the moss on the top might not recover very quickly. That was alright too, it could re-grow.

Jack huffed in amusement. “Oh! Question.” He said cheerfully. “So Dad was a Horse, right? So why did I turn into a Rabbit?”

Bunnymund thought it over for a moment. Good point. “Probably for the same reason Manny didn’t recognise what he was.” He ventured. “I’m the only Pooka you remember seein’. So when ya shifted-”

“-I turned into a Rabbit instead of a Horse.” Jack finished the thought. Probably a defense mechanism, make it less likely that Bunnymund, as the only adult Pooka around, would cast him away for being from a different clan. Not that it would have made any difference to Bunnymund. A kit was a kit, he was happy no matter what Jack shifted into.

“Any chance of me being able to turn into a horse later?” Jack questioned. “ _Little_ closer to my size.”

Bunnymund chuckled. Jack was certainly stuck on the size issue. “I reckon.” He agreed, the air warming up as they reached the more central tunnels. “Give it a couple of centuries.” Not very long, really.

“ _Centuries_?” Jack demanded with an annoyed wail. “Just how old _are_ you?”

“Dunno.” Bunnymund admitted. “Lost count after several hundred thousand millennia or so.”

Jack was quiet for a good long while. They were almost to Bunnymund’s quarters and the hot springs before he spoke up again.

“That’s it. From now on, I’m calling you ‘Grandpa’.”

-fin-

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: And then an art doodle fell out - [Boop! Got your nose!](http://ickaimp.tumblr.com/post/41769968219/boop-got-your-nose-wanted-to-draw-pooka-jack)
> 
> [Tazzy LadyNero](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazzy_Ladynero/pseuds/Tazzy_Ladynero) wrote a follow up! '[Discovering Relations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1557080)'


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